The Double Closet

Like many ethnic activist movements the Mexican liberation movement began sometime around the 1960’s. The LGBTQ resistance finds many of its roots in these ethnic liberation campaigns. Through their social rejection as a minority the Mexican community has had many ordeals in dealing with liberation and equality movements. However, because of their social stigmatization, the Mexican community is able to create a sense of solidarity that empowers them in their activism towards LGBTQ liberation and equalization.

            The Long-Chavez article describes the oppression that the Mexican community has to bear. The multiple suicide attempts of 22 year old Yanelli Hernandez are used to quickly brings to light the suffering created by the immigration enforcement situation.  However, the article also begins to define the many other oppressive problems faced by this community. Through Alex Aldana the author is able to reveal the identity crisis that a lot of youth have to perceiver on top of the documentation predicament. This credits Smith’s idea of how all oppressions are interlocked. Alex’s ‘double closet’ exposes the link between homophobic-created depression and that of being undocumented. This homophobia is simply another outlet that allows the further stigmatization of the Mexican community.

            The intertwining of these depressions brings forth much resentment from Alex’s family as it does with other families in the LGBTQ community. But where does this resentment come from?  It derives from the “…allegiance to patriarchal gender relations and to a system of sexual meanings that directly militate against the emergence of this alternative basis of self- identity”(Almaguer, 1991, p.545) that Chicano families require.  A possible reason for this requirements existence is that the existence of one’s homosexuality bringing the sexuality of others into question (Smith, 1993). A common way to prove ones heterosexuality is to “…put down lesbians and gay men at every turn” (Smith, 1993, p.1130). This can be seen in the Mexican community through the creation of negative terms such as “maricón” and “puto” that tether gay men to the effeminate and negatively passive identity that resides in the Mexican community (Almaguer, 1991). The creation of distain towards the Mexican community through the opposition of immigration movement can led to further internal degradation of the Mexican people themselves.

However, though there is much resentment in attitudes towards the Mexican immigration and LGBTQ oppression, the article presents a possibility for hope. “Fortunately, there is an increasing body of work available…that provides an integrated approach to the intersection of a multiplicity of identities and issues” states Smith (1993). This work is represented in the support of those like Yanelli and Alex through supportive posters, sit-ins, and acknowledgments towards activist organizations like the Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Coalition. The article does brutally describe the effects of all forms of oppression associated with the Mexican community but it also describes the admirable productivity created in the support that they have for each other.

Because of the activism of this undocumented youth the correlation between immigration injustice and the injustice of LGBTQ community is undeniable. As the Mexican community steps away from the masculine/passive roles in homosexuality and the greater LGBTQ community they will be able to break through the depressive wall created by those roles and continue that positive virtue towards the concern of immigration. 

Bibliography:

Tomas, Alamaguer "chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual; Identity and Behavior" in Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies ed. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider, 1998

Barbara SMith "Homophobia: Why Bring it Up?' from The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. ed Henry Ablelove et al New York& London: Routledge, 1993.

Andrea Long-Chavez (2012, February 3) Undocumented Young Activists Talk About Depression And Suicide. Huffington Post.
Retrieved from:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/02/undocumented-activists-dream-act_n_1251152.html

Latino Gay Men- Jessica Fernandez

Heterosexuality has been seen as the norm and dominant view regarding human sexual behavior in most societies conversely homosexuality has been as the sexual minority. In an effort to reach social tolerance and acceptance, the LGBTQ community has challenged hetero-sexist views usually through nonconforming methods. In the middle of this coalition we often think of the LGBTQ community as one common force, however it is important to consider other minorities within the LGBTQ community. Barbara Smith's article "Homophobia: Why Bring It Up?" brings up a valid point when she refers to the misconception that “gay” refers to a white homosexual men, "[ignoring] that some of us are  women and people of color and working class, and poor and disabled, and old. "  These minorities that Smith mentions often get overshadowed by the broad concept of homosexuality. For this reason I would like to focus my blog post on the sexual minority of Latino homosexual men and argue how catholic religion and Latino culture have created a unique identity among Latino homosexual men. In addition I will analyze how the Latino community is becoming more accepting than previous generations.
    Religion plays a big factor in the beliefs and opinions of its worshipers. In previous generations Catholic religion has often instilled beliefs that homosexuality is immoral creating homophobic point of views among its believers. In the news article "Much has changed for gay and lesbian Catholics in L.A." it is stated that the Pope Venedict XVI wrote in a letter to bishops, “[that Catholicism] is an "objective disorder, and a person engaging in homosexual behavior acts immorally.” This belief often led homosexual Catholics to feel as if they were doing something wrong and sinful if they engaged in homosexual behavior. In addition these religious views made it harder for a Latino man to “come out” to his family. However things have been changing, the news piece also brings up a more promising point of view as it explains how catholic religion is becoming more accepting towards homosexuality. Catholic churches are learning to view homosexuality as an intrinsic part of gays and lesbians rather than seeing it as a sin.

Another fundamental part of Latino identity is patriarchy and gender roles. Latino gender roles expect males to engage in masculine behavior whereas women are supposed to follow feminine roles. A shift in the workplace in America and European countries paved the way for a change in traditional gender roles in both men and women. With the rise of industrialization people were allowed to leave the family-based economy and focus more on their sexual identity.(Almaguer) Latinos on the other hand experienced much less of this change in economy. When comparing the differences among white gay men and Latino or other colored gay men it is also crucial to consider the racial differences. White gay men are in a better situation than other homosexuals because they have a racial advantage, one can see how this has been advantageous since the first homosexual alliances to be formed were prominently of white gay men. Colored people are in a much more compromising situation facing both racial discrimination and homophobia. (Almaguer)

Religion, culture, and traditions encompass what it means to be both Latino and homosexual. The homosexual experience is different for every race, social class, and culture since all these components intertwine to form unique identities.

Bibliography

Almaguer, Tomas “Chicano Men: A Cartography of Homosexual; Identity and Behavior” in      

             Social Perspectives in Gay and Lesbian Studies ed. Peter M Nardi and Beth Schneider,1998.

Landsberg, Mitchell. "Much Has Changed for Gay and Lesbian Catholics in L.A." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 23 Oct. 2011. Web. 09 Feb. 2012. <http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/23/local/la-me-gay-catholics-20111024>.

Smith, Barbara “Homophobia: Why Bring It Up?” from The Lesbian and Gay and Studies                Reader. Ed Henry Ablelove et al New York& London: Routlesdge,1993.

Ethnicity vs. Sexuality in the Asian American Community

          LGBTQ issues in the Asian American community are not necessarily a taboo, yet they are not often discussed. There are mixed opinions about their sexuality among the individuals of the Asian American LGBTQ community. Lisa Wong’s article “Being Gay Asian American” explores the issue of whether young Asian Americans put their ethnicity of a much higher importance than their sexuality. By performing this study, which was published in the Journal of LGBT Youth by Boston University Medical Center, Wong is able to show us the feelings Asian Americans have towards their sexuality and how they struggle with deciding whether which part of their identity will be dominant. In this blog post, the results of this study will be analyzed with the help of the articles written by John D’Emelio and Martin F. Manalasan IV. Ethnicity plays a very vital role in the lives of these youths, yet this study shows that ethnic or sexual identity takes no precedence over another.
          The article by Wong starts off by stating that the study was performed on Asian Americans attending Boston University that consider themselves attracted to the same sex and are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-seven. This group of young people is an interesting case to base a study on because Wong notes, “The conflict of choosing one identity over the other is attributed to a unique set of challenges that the survey group’s western Caucasian peers do not face.” These challenges include being excluded from families that recently immigrated to the United States and are not aware or accepting of non-heteronormative sexualities, as well as receiving stigmatization from the larger Asian community. For many Asian cultures, homosexuality is seen as deviant behavior and is a cause for dishonor and shame. In order to avoid these things, Asian American youths mask their identities in order to be acceptable to their families and the larger Asian community.
          However, it is pointed out that these differences in eastern and western cultures influence how Asian American youths live their daily lives. This news article also gathers the opinions of various professors across the country. According to Dr. Connie So, Senior Lecturer of American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington, sex is a very private topic in Asian communities therefore many Asian Americans do not consider it a part of their identity. Western culture associates their sexuality as something that defines who they are, yet Asian cultures simply accept it as a part of them and keep it private. Chong-suk Han, an Assistant Professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, mentions that “The Western stereotype of being gay is to ‘come out’ and wear a big sign that says ‘I’m gay’.” The article by John D’Emilio supports this claim. He wrote that ever since medical professionals theorized homosexuality as a clinical entity, it was less of an aberration and became a quality that defined a person’s identity. With this being said, young Asian Americans are private about their sexuality and do not encounter many hardships and oppressions. They do not necessarily hide their sexuality because of their ethnicity and the repercussions that come with coming out, but instead keep that aspect of their lives private because sexuality is not that big of a deal in eastern cultures compared to cultures from the west.
          Wong’s article also states that Asian American families are more accepting of homosexuality nowadays. This claim is also supported by the article “Searching for Community: Filipino Gay Men from New York City.” In this article, Martin F. Manalasan IV argues that Filipino immigrants consider Philippine society to be tolerant of homosexuality. In these modern times, Asian American families are more concerned about the education of their young and whether they will be financially stable for their own future families. Whether or not their children are heterosexual, the fact that they are set for life will be enough to make Asian American parents content. Again, neither ethnicity nor sexuality is being placed as a dominant aspect of the lives of these young individuals. Guaranteeing stability for their future is more important to them at this point in their lives.
          In conclusion, young Asian Americans do not put their ethnicity of higher importance over their sexuality. Although a vital part, ethnicity does not control how they live their lives. Unlike Western cultures, they do not let their sexuality define who they are as well. Through the analysis of Wong’s news article, as well as supplemental articles by D’Emilio and Manalasan, it can be said that there are many other pressing issues in the lives of young homosexual Asian Americans rather than their sexuality. Above everything, financial stability and health is a higher priority to these individuals. Their ethnicity and sexuality is a part of them, yet they do not let it define them.

Works Cited

John D’Emilo “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview” from Sexual

          Politics, Sexual, Communities in the United States 1940-1970. Chicago, Ill:

          University of Chicago Press, 1983.

Martin F. Manalasan IV “Searching for Community: Filipino Gay Men from New York

City”. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. Routledge Chapman Hall,

1993.

Wong, Lisa. "Being Gay Asian American." The International Examiner. Web. 6 Feb.

          2012. <http://www.examiner.org/news/features/gay-asian-american/>.

The 'Double-Whammy'

            LGBTQ community issues in this day and age are increasingly gaining higher levels of importance and attention. From people’s views and perspectives, attitudes, activism, and even constitutional laws (Prop 8 has been deemed unconstitutional YAY!!). We as a society have come a long way in a relatively short amount of time (although of course we are not where we should ideally be at because we still have a long ways to go). But it seems as if there is a demographic being overlooked in the LGBTQ community; ethnic minorities. I will be focusing on the African American ethnic LGBTQ minorities, centering on Special issues arise for Black LGBT, an article written by Eric Mayes.

            This article provides statistical analysis on the issues of the black homosexual minority, touching on what the underlying issues are that cause these disparities. Black homosexual couples make significantly less median income than homosexual white couples (over $20,000 more). Black lesbians have it even worse, making less than their black heterosexual counterparts. But the interesting fact that Mayes puts to the forefront is that black lesbians poverty rates come up to 21.1 percent while white lesbians experience only 4.3 percent. Black gay males experience 14.4 percent poverty rates. Black homosexual raising children are more likely to live in poverty.  Black transgender people also suffer significantly, experiencing 28 percent of unemployment, and while 1 in 5 white transgender Americans are denied a home/apartment based on discrimination, it doubles for black transgender Americans.

            What do these numbers say about being African American and identify with LGBTQ? They are clearly at a higher disadvantage than the Caucasian homosexual demographic. One of the reasons are obviously pretty clear; being black is already a disadvantage dating way back in time, and is still very prevalent in society today. Discrimination against African Americans can be quite crippling, and that also goes for the LGBTQ community. So not only are they a racial minority, they are also a sexual minority, which is like a ‘double-whammy’. And especially for black homosexual women; that’s a ‘triple-whammy’ because of prevalence of a ‘male-dominated’ society that undermines women.

            “Gay means gay white men with large discretionary income, period. Perceiving gay people in this way allows one to ignore that some of us are women and people of color and working class and poor and disabled and old.” as stated by Barbara Smith in her article Homophobia: Why Bring It Up (pg.101)? This is a central issue that many overlook. Partially because many people don’t truly understand the issues within the black community, therefore they may relate on sexuality bases, but cannot relate/understand issues that race plays into this dichotomy. Another issue that is also overlooked is the lack of support WITHIN the black community. A majority of black heterosexuals don’t approve/support the gay community. This has to do with many factors including how they were raised, the influence of the black Christian church ideals which condemns homosexuality as sinful, the lack of education on this issue, etc… So not only do they not have understanding and the right support from their sexual minority community, but they don’t really receive it from their racial minority.

            “A majority of informants, mostly immigrants, felt that Philippine society was relatively tolerant of homosexuality.” according to the research of Martin F. Manalansan in Searching for Community; Filipino Gay Men in New York City (pg.276). This raises the question of is their more or less discrimination and disadvantage within the wide umbrella of people of color? Are some races more accepting and supportive than others? This solidifies the point made above of the lack of support in the black community. But the factors that contribute to that are deeply embedded in the attitudes and perspectives of the black community and when it comes to figuring out how to reverse this is still up to debate.

             There is not a definite answer as to why black LGBTQ face a significantly higher amount of discrimination and struggle because there are many factors that contribute to it. Minorities in general all have their different sets of issues and struggles, and to deem them as unimportant and something that can be ‘dealt with later’ being overlooked is the wrong approach. It is just as important, and should be just as focused and supported as any other issue.  

*Link of article: http://www.phillytrib.com/newsarticles/item/2378-special-issues-arise-for-black-lgbt.html

A minority plus a minority equals what?

Brenda Santamaria

Identifying as a LGBTQ is hard; especially within a culture and community that does not accept it. Ignorance is common among communities who are not open-minded about issues that neither their culture nor religion agrees with. In Giselle Ramirez’s recent YouTube video, she speaks out and expresses her hardships of growing up being a Hispanic lesbian (Cuentama, 2011).  Throughout this blog post, I will conduct an analysis of Giselle’s video using John D’Emilio and Nan Stein’s ideas about sexuality to prove that Mexican/ American women are not only marginalized  for their status as a minority but because their Religion does not accept their sexual orientation.

Harassment among LGBTQ communities is very common, which makes it hard for LGBTQ people to be completely open about their sexuality. Giselle knew from an early age that she was attracted towards girls, and decided to be open about her preference. As a result, however she suffered from bullying and physical violence. Ramirez states how “she was physically assaulted by two girls in a school bus” (An Honest Conversation video, 2011). Yet, the school did not intervene nor defended Giselle; instead they suspended her, even though she did not instigate the fight. Nan Stein argues, that schools have forgotten that students should “go to school that is gender-safe, and free from gender-based harassment and violence” (Stain, 31). School is not meant for students to bullied, it is meant to be a healthy learning environment where teenagers can properly form their young minds while discovering themselves.  

Furthermore while battling with societal issues; Giselle was not even presented with any sort of family support. This has to do with that fact that her parents could not think past the religion barrier. Her own father reminded her that, since she was not discrete about being a lesbian, she automatically put herself out there. John D’Emilio agrees with this statement when he mentions that homosexuality creates, “a pervasive hostility, expressed through religion” (D’Emilio, 22). The fact that her family comes from a Catholic background was enough for them to not support their daughter. Giselle also includes how “she was in fear she was going to go to hell for being a lesbian” (An Honest Conversation Video, 2011). Therefore, the heavy Catholic background of a Chicana influenced Giselle’s father opinion, even though, ironically “her parents were not the type of religious people that go to church every weekend” (An Honest Conversation Video, 2011). In short, her parents may not have been very religious, however they did not approve of their daughter’s sexual orientation based on strong beliefs that God had intended for humans to be straight.

People cannot change their sexual preference, but we can at least strive to change one's awareness of how marginalizing it would be for Mexican/ American women who are already a minority, to be further marginalized for belonging to the LGBTQ community. As shown in the context, Giselle has gone through various forms of violence and abuse due to her homosexuality. From peers attacking her physically, to family attacking her mentally, Giselle has confronted the constraints inherent with her ethnicity and her religion. Tolerance does exist within the world, though not completely. Therefore, people like Giselle will continue to experience hardships due to the ignorance of other people’s fears and strong religious beliefs.

Bibliography:

 http://mycuentame.org/2011/12/08/giselle-ramirez-speaks-out-about-being-a-hispanic-lesbian/

D’Emilio, John. “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview” from Sexual

Politics, Sexual, Communities in the United States 1940-1970. Chicago, Ill:

University of Chicago Press, 1983. pp 9-22

Stien, Nan. Bullying, Harassment and Violence among students in Radical Teacher, No.

80 “Teaching Beyond Tolerance” Winter 2007. pp 30-35